


we start with stars in our eyes

by daydoodles



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Broadway, Canon Jewish Character, Deaf Character, Hurt/Comfort, Jewish Character, Light Angst, M/M, Manga & Anime, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tattoos, well some of it is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 00:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13329597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydoodles/pseuds/daydoodles
Summary: Sometimes the things that need to be said the most are the hardest things to say.And sometimes, it's all about how you say them.





	we start with stars in our eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Okay there's a lot going on with this fic, so sorry in advance for this long ass note. The rest of the chapter notes won't be this obnoxious, I promise!
> 
> First of all, Holster's Jewish, but I am not, and I am admittedly very ignorant of Jewish beliefs and culture. I'm working on it, but it's a process, so in the meantime if you see anything I wrote Holster saying/doing that's offensive, incorrect, misleading, or otherwise problematic please let me know! I'll fix it immediately.
> 
> Same with Holster being hard of hearing. I'm mildly HOH myself, but it's not to the point I need hearing aids or sign or anything, so if I've written anything that needs to be addressed in any way please don't be shy! I do have some experience with ASL and deaf culture, but like I said, I'm not actually part of the community itself. Let me know if there's anything I need to fix.
> 
> As for their professions, the only experience I have with tattoos is getting them, and I've only ever watched Broadway bootlegs, so take all that with a grain of salt, too. Ignore the stigma around tattoos in general though, since everyone is basically born with one in this AU anyway. Plus, I hate the stigma around tattoos, so I chose to just...leave it out of this fic.
> 
> In other news: I have a general idea of the direction this fic will go, so I've tried to tag as well as I can, including what I'm planning for future chapters. That may change, though, so please mind the tags in case I edit them along the way!
> 
> And last but not least, special thanks and all my love goes out to [Macyn](http://christopherfranklinchow.tumblr.com) for listening to my brainstorming and encouraging this fic, and [Noel](http://halfabreath.tumblr.com) for not only enabling me but also betaing this! Any mistakes or ignorance left in here is all my own, y'all, she's awesome. Both of them are way too good to me.

Most people have this preconceived, romantic notion about what it’s like when soulmates meet for the first time.

 

Some people say it feels like fireworks going off. Some people say it’s like you get butterflies in your stomach. Some people say the whole world just disappears, besides the one person the universe destined to be yours. Some people say, once you meet your soulmate, everything else just makes sense.

 

Kent Parson knows it’s not that simple.

 

He knows because he had all that, once, but not with his soulmate. He knows because sometimes, people are messy, and even fate or destiny or the universe or whatever else you believe in can’t change that. Sometimes, shit just doesn’t go the way you planned, and sometimes it’s all your fault.

 

But sometimes, it’s not always that simple, either.

 

Like now, while Kent’s sitting at his desk and hears a ding as the front door opens, and he looks up to see actual Tony winner Adam Birkholtz walking into his shop.

 

And like, Kent’s not a theatre kid, never was, but he’d have to have been living under a rock for the past year not to recognise Broadway’s newest star. He’s been in every tabloid, on the cover of every magazine, done interviews for every website that matters. Everyone knows Adam Birkholtz, not just theatre kids. Plus, he was in American Psycho, and Kent isn’t an angel, okay? He couldn’t pass up the chance to see a guy that hot in a suit and covered in blood, not to mention the opportunity to hear his incredible voice. Kent watched the bootleg like four times.

 

So, needless to say, Kent is a little bit caught off guard when his celebrity crush just strolls into his tattoo shop, all perfect blond hair and long legs and charming smile, and asks for a cover up.

 

Kent just blinks at him for a second, because damn, he’s way more attractive in person, if that’s even possible. “Sure, man. What do you need covered up?” He’s expecting some horrible drunken tattoo that was done at a sketchy ass shop and needs to be removed from memory immediately, preferably before the media finds out. For the second time in the span of a minute, he doesn’t get what he’s expecting.

 

Adam Birkholtz, the so-called Beau of Broadway himself, takes a tissue out of his pocket and scrubs away just below the base of his thumb where his hand meets his wrist till the makeup he’d apparently been wearing fades and a tiny pattern of dots is revealed. Kent knows it’s a soulmark. He knows it’s the constellation Lyra, the harp. He knows the mythology behind it, has the whole story memorised. He knows because he has the same fucking thing on his own wrist.

 

But he can’t really say that, because then Adam is talking. “It’s my soulmark, and I’m tired of wearing makeup on it every day so the media won’t see it. Plus I’ve never really believed in it anyway, and I want a fresh start with this new show so maybe it’s sort of symbolic, too.” He shrugs, like this revelation isn’t simultaneously making Kent’s wildest dreams come true and crushing them into a million tiny pieces.

 

“Okay, cool.” This is definitely not cool. Kent thinks he might throw up. “Do you have any idea what you want over it? I don’t have an appointment for a couple more hours, so if you want I can draw you something up right now.” Really he just needs something to do with his hands. And also distract his brain from short circuiting.

 

Adam flashes him a smile. “Sweet. I was thinking maybe something with white lilies?”

 

“That would be perfect.” _This is not perfect, not at all_ , his brain yells. “I could hide the dots in the leaves and shading pretty easily. You know how big you want it?”

 

He shrugs. “Not really, as long as it’s nothing too huge.”

 

“This your first tattoo?”

 

“Yeah.” Adam shifts his weight like he’s nervous. “So I was thinking maybe we could start small?”

 

“That’s a good idea,” Kent agrees, giving Adam what he hopes is an encouraging smile but kind of feels like a pained grimace. “Alright, gimme a minute to sketch out some options, okay?” Adam nods. “You can sit wherever, I’ll be right back. If you need anything, my name’s Kent. Kent Parson.” He sticks out his hand. Luckily it’s the hand that doesn’t have his soulmark, because he would die if Adam saw that.

 

Adam takes it, giving it a firm shake. “Adam Birkholtz.”

 

“I know, dude. I know. Congrats on the Tony, by the way.” Kent drops Adam’s hand, turns on his heel, and practically power walks to the back room. He hears a soft, surprised “thanks” just as he shuts the door, plopping down into the chair by the desk. He drags his hands down his face, sighing. It’s going to be a long day.

 

He figures the sooner he gets this over with, the sooner he can forget about the whole ordeal, so he grabs a pencil and starts sketching. Since Adam doesn’t have a super specific design in mind, it’s pretty easy for Kent to get lost in his art and just draw what he thinks will look good. (More specifically, what he thinks will look good on Adam, but then again, anything would look good on Adam. Kent’s so fucked.)

 

He turns the music up just a bit in an attempt to drown out his thoughts, but he isn’t so sure it works because he’s still jittery and yeah, he’s drawn a million flowers before, so he knows he can do this, but for some reason everything he’s drawing seems off. He realises, after the fourth scrapped sketch, that it’s because his hands are shaking. He takes deep breaths, focusing on redrawing the designs, letting muscle memory from years of art classes and training take over. He somehow manages to steady his heart rate and hands a bit, and sends a silent thank you to his therapist for preparing him for times like this. Not that she could’ve known this particular situation would come up, but still. Jesus, he’s gonna have a lot to tell her in their next session.

 

Once he manages to sketch a few designs he likes, he walks back out to the front and asks Adam what he thinks. Adam assures Kent that he loves them all, which makes Kent blush way more than he’ll ever admit, but ultimately Adam decides on a simple string of lilies wrapped around his wrist. Kent is a little surprised, considering it’s the most delicate design he’d drawn up, all soft lines and subtle shading on intertwining stems, but it suits Adam somehow. The contrast against his strong wrist will definitely make it stand out.

 

Kent inks it to neaten it up and makes the stencil, then tries it out on Adam to make sure he likes the placement and the way it actually looks on his body. With Adam’s approval, he takes his ID, fills out the necessary forms, then gets to work setting up as Adam makes himself comfortable on the chair, arm stretched out on the armrest. Kent is still a bit on edge, but he’s done this a million times, so his body kind of runs itself at this point. He still lets out a sigh of relief when he gets his gloves on, though.

 

“You ready?” he asks, scooting his chair a bit to the left to get a better angle.

 

“Uh. Yeah, I think so.” Adam doesn’t sound too sure.

 

“Just let me know if it’s too much, alright? We can take breaks.”

 

Adam cocks an eyebrow. “Do people need breaks for a tattoo this small often?”

 

“Nah. Only the ones with really low pain tolerance.” And with that, he presses the needle to Adam’s skin.

 

He’s starting on the outside of the wrist, the same side as the forearm, because it tends to be less painful since the skin is a bit thicker. Adam winces almost imperceptibly, but within seconds he seems to be more relaxed. Kent’s glad; he doesn’t do well with comforting people, much less super attractive, super hard-working, super talented famous people. Especially when they also happen to be his soulmate. His soulmate who’s getting their mark covered up.

 

After a few lines, once Adam looks like he’s chilled out a bit from the initial shock, Kent starts talking, because that’s what he always does. Plus, why would he not use this opportunity to talk to the upcoming star of Dear Evan Hansen, which is only the most anticipated musical of the year? “So, why the white lilies?” He tries to sound conversational, but his voice shakes. He wants to stab himself with the tattoo gun.

 

“Oh, uh. Well, I’m Jewish, and they’re associated with a lot of symbolism in the Tanakh, so. They mean a lot to me.”

 

“Symbolism?”

 

Adam nods. “Yeah. They can stand for a lot of things - like the resurrection, righteousness, and even Israel itself. It’s a good reminder, you know? To look down and see a symbol of what God did for me.”

 

“Dude, that’s awesome.” Kent wipes away some of the ink from the bone of his wrist. “Not that getting tattoos just for the aesthetic isn’t awesome too, but I love hearing stories like that. Why stuff is important to people.”

 

“So tell me why you got one of yours.”

 

Kent pauses, looking up to meet Adam’s eyes. “My tattoos?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

He turns back to Adam’s wrist, outlining a leaf. “All of mine are much less meaningful. Like this sleeve,” he says as he holds up his left arm. “It’s just my favourite anime cats. Because they’re cute as shit.”

 

Adam actually laughs at that, and Kent wants to listen to it forever. “Who are they?”

 

Kent turns his arm so Adam can see them. “Jiji, Luna and Artemis, Chi, Blair, and Kuro.”

 

Adam smirks. “I only know like half of those.”

 

“Which half?” Kent asks as he goes back to the tattoo, turning Adam’s wrist gently so he can reach the other side.

 

“Jiji, Luna, and Artemis.”

 

“Ah, the classics.” Kent giggles. He actually giggles.

 

Adam doesn’t seem to notice. “Everyone’s seen Sailor Moon, bro. And Ghibli is iconic, how could I not watch Kiki’s Delivery Service?”

 

“It would be a crime to go through childhood without seeing it.”

 

“Truly,” Adam agrees seriously. “What’re the other three from?”

 

“Soul Eater, Chi’s Sweet Home, and Ao No Exorcist.” He turns Adam’s wrist again, wiping it a bit as he goes.

 

“I’ll have to watch those sometime.”

 

“You should. Obviously I’m biased, but I highly recommend them, anyway.”

 

“I’m not big on anime, but maybe I’ll make an exception. If your taste in shows is as good as your taste in tattoos, then I’m sold.” He flashes Kent another one of those dazzling smiles; he has really big teeth, but for some weird reason it makes him more endearing. Kent hates him for it.

 

“Don’t watch the dubs, though. Sailor Moon’s is alright, and Soul Eater’s is tolerable, but the rest are fucking garbage.”

 

“I mean, I always use subtitles anyway, so it doesn’t make a difference to me.”

 

Kent quirks an eyebrow. “You do?”

 

“Yeah, man. I’m hard of hearing.” He taps a hearing aid Kent hadn’t noticed till now.

 

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

 

Adam shakes his head. “You’re fine. A lot of people assume I can hear, since I sing for a living, and all.”

 

“It was still shitty of me. Sorry.”

 

“Apology accepted.” Kent doesn’t know if it makes him feel any better, but at least Adam doesn’t seem mad.

 

“You ready for shading?” Kent asks, turning Adam’s wrist back over the way it started.

 

“Go for it.”

 

Kent goes for it, and Adam continues to be a model client. Kent almost wishes he would be overly demanding, or just plain rude, or otherwise cause a scene, just so he’d have some reason to get over the fact that his soulmate is making him cover up the very mark he shares with Kent. Obviously none of that is going to happen, so Kent resigns himself to accepting the inevitable. Which is, he’ll finish the tattoo and Adam will leave and go on living his incredible life and inspiring people and making people happy and Kent will still be here, stuck without a soulmate forever. It’s fine. He’ll be fine.

 

When he finishes, he gives it one last wipe down and asks Adam to look in the mirror and tell him what he thinks. At first he doesn’t say anything, just stares, and Kent thinks he might have an aneurysm if he doesn’t say something soon. But then he turns around to face Kent, and he’s beaming, smiling brighter than the sun, and pulls Kent into a tight hug.

 

Kent freezes, unsure what to do. “Do you like it?” he asks awkwardly as Adam squeezes him a little.

 

“It’s perfect, thank you so much, Kent.” Adam lets him go, turning back to the mirror to admire his new tattoo from all angles, and Kent is really glad he loves it, but it’s bittersweet. He’s proud of his work, and loves how excited Adam is about it, but he wishes the thing making his soulmate so happy wasn’t the replacement for a soulmark.

 

Kent wraps the fresh ink up in plastic, gives Adam a care bag, and takes Adam’s money. He asks for Kent’s Instagram, flashes one last smile, and then he’s gone, and Kent can’t decide if he hopes he comes back or not.

 

Later that night, Adam posts a picture to Instagram of his tattoo. The caption doesn’t say anything about a soulmark, but it does say that Kent is the best tattoo artist in New York, which is a hell of an overstatement, but he’ll take it. It doesn’t quite take away the sting of losing his soulmate, though.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from [this song](https://youtu.be/kfnMvo87fQU) because I'll never be over DEH. Also, Holster's giant dorky ass is the best Evan ever, alright? I don't make the rules.


End file.
